The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax

Emily Pollifax is one of a precious few gray-haired female sleuths who solve their cases through unflagging determination, moral courage and wisdom that comes with age. In "The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax", Emily answers the call of that “nice Mr. Carstairs” to go to Istanbul as a courier and search for a missing agent.

Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish

All Mrs. Pollifax has to do is help a bumbling CIA agent confirm the identities of seven undercover informants in Morocco. A simple assignment. But right away, things go wrong. The first informant is murdered just after Mrs. P. identifies him in Fez. Worse, she has the frightening sensation that her associate is not who or what he says he is.

Mrs. Pollifax Pursued

A missing salami leads Mrs. Pollifax to a shocking discovery: a woman is hiding in her house. Even more unsettling is the revelation that ever since the young woman had a chance encounter with the heir to the throne of Ubangiba, she has been followed by deadly hit men. What do these men want?

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist

Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist whisks the gray-haired agent into a perilous web of intrigue that spreads across the drifting sands of the volatile Middle East. An old CIA friend, Farrell, must collect an inflammatory manuscript smuggled out of Iraq into Jordan. Farrell has a simple request for Emily—provide cover during his trip to Jordan by posing as his fun-loving elderly cousin. But before the plane even lands, danger begins stalking the sprightly Mrs. Pollifax.

Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer

Emily Pollifax accompanies her young friend Kadi back to Africa, where a mutual friend is to be crowned king of his small country. But when several people are slashed by murderous lion claws and Kadi disappears, Mrs. Pollifax must begin a perilous investigation. Fortunately for all, staunch determination and polished karate skills are on her side.

Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled

Seven weeks ago, a young American woman, Amanda Pym, faced down hijackers on board a flight to the Middle East and saved the lives of more than two hundred passengers. In a blaze of celebrity, she stepped off the plane in Damascus and was whisked away in a waiting car. Since then, NOTHING. The CIA believes she was kidnapped and murdered. Whose plans has the apparently ordinary young woman interfered with? The machinations of the mukhabarat, Syria's dreaded police?

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. This first in the series sends Emily on her first case after she successfully persuades a skeptical CIA recruitment officer that she is the best person for the job.

A Nun in the Closet

From the author of the classic mysteries starring the irrepressible CIA spy, Mrs. Pollifax, comes a delightfully different mystery with a most unholy twist. Filled with all the hilarious surprises and good old-fashioned suspense that her fans have come to love, A Nun in the Closet is the story of two high-spirited nuns who accidentally stumble into a dangerous plot involving ghosts, gangsters, and Protestants.

Mrs. Pollifax Pursued

Kadi Hopkirk has been hiding in Mrs. Pollifax's junk closet for two days. Kadi spills out an improbable story - that since a chance meeting with a childhood friend she has been followed by persons unknown in a sinister van. A little experiment on Mrs. P's part proves at least this part of the story correct. What began as a dash for safety and a call for help expands into an assignment that leads to hair-trigger violence in exotic places.

The Clairvoyant Countess

From the best-selling author of the famous Mrs. Pollifax series comes another delightfully eccentric and sage female sleuth - the exotic Madame Karitska. Although she is a genuine countess, Marina Elena Provovnitchek Gaylord Von Domm Karitska is foremost a psychic. When one of her clients turns up dead, Madame Karitska makes the acquaintance of Detective-Lieutenant Pruden, and an uncanny partnership is born. Madame Karitska forms images with the psychic vibrations she picks up from personal objects.

Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer

In response to a desperate SOS, Kadi Hopkirk flies to the African country of Ubangiba, where her childhood friend, Sammat, is soon to be crowned king. Mrs. Pollifax, reluctant to allow the girl to venture alone into what she fears may be grave danger, crashes the party.

Malice at the Palace

While my beau, Darcy, is off on a mysterious mission, I am once again caught between my high birth and empty purse. I am therefore relieved to receive a new assignment from the queen - especially one that includes lodging. The king's youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and I shall be her companion at the supposedly haunted Kensington Palace. My duties are simple: help Marina acclimate to English life, show her the best of London, and, above all, dispel any rumors about George's libertine history.

Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief

The one and only Mrs. Emily Pollifax is a part-time CIA operative and full-time garden-clubbing grandmother from New Jersey. In this adventure, she is off to the Sicilian countryside on a daring mission to rescue John Sebastian Farrell, a former CIA comrade, who was shot while trying to track down a document that allegedly bears the signature of Julius Caesar.

Thale's Folly

Andrew Thale is not exactly thrilled when his overbearing father sends him on an errand to assess the property inherited from an eccentric aunt. Andrew is intrigued though, when he finds the house fully occupied. Its odd and interesting residents have a calming effect on him, especially the beautiful young woman named Tarragon. But his arrival seems to have set a series of mysterious events into motion. Narrator John McDonough’s engaging performance lets you share in the excitement and camaraderie.

The Tightrope Walker

“They’re going to kill me soon,” begins the note Amelia discovers in an antique hurdy-gurdy. From that moment on, the shy young woman finds herself doing all kinds of things she never thought possible. Between newfound intimacies and a risky journey into the past, Amelia comes to see herself in a whole new light. The scrawled note drives Amelia to find out what happened to the person who wrote it, identified only as “Hannah.” Who was Hannah? Was she really murdered? Amelia’s investigation leads her to dizzying new heights of romance and danger. Like a tightrope walker, she must not look down—especially when she finds herself in situations uncannily similar to those Hannah faced just before her murder. Like the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries for which Dorothy Gilman is famous, The Tightrope Walker features a spirited and unpretentious heroine and an intriguing mystery, enhanced by colorful settings and characters. Ruth Ann Phimister’s skillful narration adds a personal dimension, making you care about Amelia and the fascinating and dangerous people she meets.

Caravan

Caressa Horvath, raised in the corrupting atmosphere of a traveling carnival, marries an anthropologist named Jacob Bowman, who takes her on a journey to North Africa. Jacob gets himself killed by a band of Bedouin who spare Caressa’s life. The only one of her party left alive, Caressa is forced to join the caravan on a harrowing journey across the African desert.

Uncertain Voyage

Uncertain Voyage is certain to hold you spellbound with its tale of a timid young American woman who finds herself in situations that would test anyone’s courage. Melissa Aubrey is touring Europe alone as part of her quest to establish her self-reliance. Still recovering from a nervous breakdown brought on by a disastrous marriage, Melissa is fragile, to say the least. When one of her fellow travelers makes an urgent plea that she deliver a small package to an address in Majorca, Melissa is thrown into a dizzying whirlwind of romance, mystery, and danger.

Queen of Hearts

Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 35th in line for the British throne, knows how to play the part of an almost royal - but now she's off to Hollywood, where she must reprise her role as sleuth or risk starring in an all-too-convincing death scene...

I started reading the Mrs. Pollifax series back in the middle 1960s. I have read them off and on whenever I came across a book. I understand the Dorothy Gilman died in February 2012 so there will be no more books. In this book Mrs. Pollifax is off to Switzerland to a spa hotel for a "rest from the flu" as a cover for her spy job for the CIA. Mrs. Pollifax is a retired teacher, she was bored so applied to the CIA for a part-time job. She is looking for missing plutonium. Of course, she solves the case in a delightful, sometimes funny way but the book is also full of action, suspense, murder, kidnapping, and at times a bit of how did she do that. The book is a great change of pace and leaves one feeling good. Barbara Rosenblat is one of my favorite narrators and she did her usual great job.

A 50-something who loves sci-fi, cozy mysteries, thrillers, an occasional romance, and any genre if it is a good story. And especially if it makes me laugh! No vampires or zombies though - these are NOT sci-fi!

Mrs. Pollifax is in Switzerland to help find some missing plutonium. No one takes her seriously, including Interpol and the bad guys! But with the help of a jewel thief, a little boy, and an invalid, she saves the day! This is one of the weakest of the Mrs. Pollifax books. A cute story, but unlikely enough to make it absurd. Still, it has the charm of all the books, but with few laugh-out-loud moments. And no hats! Barbara Rosenblat does her usual excellent job of narration. Worth the credit if you love Mrs. Pollifax like I do.

Mrs. P is a good read for clean, cozy mystery. Nobody does her better than Barbara Rosenblat. I believe this is the 5th in the series. You can read them out of sequence but it helps to have read Book 1, the Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. I love the series and wish there were more.

The plot is typical of this series: delightful and a bit silly at the same time. These are children's books, after all. Barbara Rosenblat's narration of the boy is just unbelievably great. The other characters are all 1st great as well.

A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax provides another delightful adventure for that most unlikely of spies, Mrs. Emily Pollifax. In her fourth mission for Carstairs of the CIA, the middle-aged widow from suburban New Jersey goes to a Swiss luxury clinic/resort in search of stolen plutonium believed to be in the area. At the spa, she encounters a large cast of widely varied characters, some good and some bad.

Not surprisingly in a Mrs. Pollifax story, a number of things go wrong with Mrs. P's mission. She must overcome adversity with the help of several of her new acquaintances in order to complete the mission and she triumphs in the end. While the skeleton of the plot may seem to be rather bland and dull, Dorothy Gilman peoples her books with such wonderful characters that the stories are interesting and charming.

As usual, Barbara Rosenblat gives an excellent performance as narrator.

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